Fonterutoli is located 5 km south of Castellina in Chianti (Siena), on the hills facing the Val d’Elsa, in the heart of the Chianti Classico. Owned by the Mazzei family since 1435, it still retains its original form, that of a tranquil country village: a cluster of houses, the church of San Miniato and the villa, built at the end of the 1500s where the medieval castle once stood. Today, the estate comprises 117 hectares of vineyard, largely planted with Sangiovese with some Merlot, Colorino, Malvasia Nera and Cabernet Sauvignon vines also planted. The cellar at Fonterutoli, designed by architect, Agnesi Mazzei, is one of the most impressive in the region, and has a minimal impact on the environment.
The quintessence of our research on Sangiovese at Castello di Fonterutoli resides in an experimental vineyard, planted in ideal pedoclimatic conditions for Sangiovese: 36 different biotypes of Sangiovese, including 18 massal selections coming from our old vineyards. A cutting edge agronomical project creates a pure-bred Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.
Vineyards location: Castelnuovo Berardenga, “Vicoregio” 330-350 m (1,080-1,150 ft) a.s.l.; S/E, S, S/W exp.
Soil: “Alberese” Limestone and clay, very rich in texture
Vineyards age: 15 years
Training system: Spur cordon-training and Guyot
Nr. of vines per hectare: 5,800 – 6,660 plants
Harvest: Hand picked starting from September 28th
Fermentation temperature: 26 – 28° C °C
Period of maceration: 20 days
Ageing: 18 months in French oak barrels (500 lt / 50% new)
Finissage: 4 months in concrete tanks
Bottling: January 2020
The 2017 harvest was unparalleled thanks to climatic events which followed one another in an unusual and extraordinary way.
After a frost on 20 April, in spring and summer there was little rainfall and summer temperatures reached high peaks, thus leading to water stress, with a reduced swelling of the grapes and a clear drop in the weight of the bunches in general.
The harvest began well in advance on the earliest vines. As regards Sangiovese, we courageously decided to wait for the September rains, when about 130 mm rain fell in 20 days together with a considerable lowering of the temperature (with minimum values dropping to 5 ° C), which gave a twist to the remaining grapes on the grapevines. Therefore, the grapes had a heterogeneous quality, with peaks of excellence, a global level well beyond the expectations. 2017 is one of the classic vintages where the achievement of important results requires much experience and a careful management of each vineyard through the adoption of a customised approach to each parcel.
Beginning of the harvest: 21 August
End of the harvest: 28 September
Rainfalls (sum of rainfall between April 1st and September 30th): 257,6 mm
Temperature Index (sum of average daily temperatures from April 1st to September 30th): 3638,45 °C
Evaluation: Good
Spiced roast meats, stewed game, aged cheeses, mushrooms and truffles.
Ageing potential: Over 20 years
James Suckling 95 pts
Wine Advocate 95 pts
Decanter 94 pts
Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG
100% Sangiovese from 36 biotypes
Natural Cork
13.83%
6.10 g/l
Yes
Yes
